UnitedHealth Group is paying many of its own physician practices significantly more than it pays other doctor groups in the same markets for similar services, undermining competition and driving up costs for consumers and businesses, a STAT investigation reveals. The findings, drawn from a sample of practices across the country, expose the effects of a deepening conflict of interest: Rather than use its size and market power to drive down the cost of care, UnitedHealth, as the corporate parent of both a dominant insurance company and health care provider, can capture larger profits by paying itself higher prices for basic checkups, surgeries, and procedures.
Read the full article: UnitedHealth Pays Its Own Physician Groups Considerably More than Others, Driving up Consumer Costs and Its Profits //
Source: https://www.statnews.com/2024/11/25/unitedhealth-higher-payments-optum-providers-converts-expenses-to-profits/